hiking in peru

Preparing for the trip

Looking back at what I experienced on this trip, I cannot believe visiting Machu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of the world, was not on my radar! Thankfully, one of my dearest friends, Cristy, had a dream to hike in Peru and she called me, knowing she could likely convince me to join her on such an adventure. When we began talking and planning the trip, looking at various tours we could tackle, I think she was surprised when I suggested we do one of the more intensive routes. She had some backpacking experience, and I came to the table with endurance fitness, but not much experience trekking and carrying a backpack. Nevertheless, I quickly became ambitious, and our mantra became, “Go big or go home, right?!” After researching many tour companies and routes, we decided to book with Alpaca Expeditions to embark on their 7 day/6 night Salkantay Trek + Inca Trail tour (which turned out to be exceptional and we would both recommend in a heartbeat). We trained by carrying our backpacks around, slowly increasing the weight in our packs. We varied our terrain from incline walks on a treadmill to venturing outside on multiple trails. We worked up to trekking 10 miles at a time with full weight on our backs, as we knew the most mileage we would cover in a day would be about 8-9 miles. Though this training fared me well, I could have been even stronger if I had incorporated some stair reps and strength training as well. I did not realize how many stairs we would be ascending and descending once we made it to the Inca Trail. I did pretty well on the climbing, but the descending was hard on my knees and when I felt the most challenged. Next time, I will be training on The Rise at Coler Mountain Bike Preserve in my hometown. The Rise includes 185 steps, is equivalent of 11 flights of stairs, and is a booty kicker when done right!
Since I was training in Arkansas, I could not incorporate much elevation training. Cristy read about a mask you could wear while exercising to help provide such training and sensation of lack of oxygen, but neither of us ended up trying it. I prayed for abundant and strong red blood cells and visited my doctor prior to traveling to get some altitude sickness medication (Diamox) and other recommended medication for traveling to this area (for nausea and traveler’s diarrhea). I highly recommend visiting your doctor and being prepared with these medications just in case, as many of them came in handy! We were also prudent and arrived in Cusco a couple days prior to beginning our trek to allow our bodies time to acclimate.
Packing for this trip was a huge challenge for me. I knew I wanted to keep my pack as light as possible, but I also like to be prepared and have options for whatever the terrain, weather, and unknowns will throw at me. While Alpaca includes some wonderful resources and information on their website, including a packing list, we curated a packing list of the items we felt were essential and were glad we had, as well as some things we wish we hadn’t left behind for our trek in late-October. If you'd like to receive our packing list, click here to request it! Special thanks to Cristy for helping me consolidate my items in my pack while in Cusco (oh the memories sitting at that scale trying to get my 25L pack to weigh around 30 pounds, and our Alpaca duffels for the porters to carry under 15 pounds), as well as for helping create this list for all of you.

Day 1 - lima

Arriving in Lima, we stayed at Hoteles Costa Del Sol by Wyndham because it was an easy walk, directly across the street from the airport. This was a nice hotel, complete with a restaurant and spa. Though we only had a day, we wanted to be able to explore Lima prior to heading to Cusco, and we found the perfect opportunity to do so on a pamphlet in our hotel room. We hired a tour guide to pick us up and take us on the “Lima City tour ‘complete.’” We were able to see the Historic Center of Lima, museums (we enjoyed tasting our way through the Choco Museo, as well as seeing the great adobe and clay pyramid of Huaca Pucllana), churches, Parque del Amor in Miraflores, and Pisco Sour and Peruvian fruit tasting. The Miraflores area was beautiful, and we could have spent some more time here. We enjoyed soaking in the beauty of the Pacific Ocean, the park, and watching the paragliders. Nevertheless, Lima only sits at 528 feet above sea level at its highest point, so we needed to keep the focus of our trip and head to Cusco at 11,155 feet to begin acclimating.

day 2 and 3 - cusco

We walked back to the airport to catch our 1.5 hour flight to Cusco via Sky Airlines. We learned you have about a 50/50 chance of experiencing altitude sickness upon arriving in Cusco (as many people can begin to experience symptoms above 9,000 feet), and though we both noticed shortness of breath walking around town, neither of us experienced sickness here. We enjoyed our time in Cusco, walking around the colorful and vibrant shops, feeling the llama and alpaca wool products, and purchasing our favorite souvenirs. There were several banks around the town square, and it was seamless to exchange our dollars for Peruvian Sol. We made sure to exchange enough to take with us on our trek for tips and any cash we felt we may want on the trail for use of bathrooms or other surprises (about 500 soles). We also appreciated the check in/orientation meeting Alpaca held prior to our trek. This allowed us to meet our team, get questions answered, and finalize our gear (we rented their sleeping bags and mats). We had one of the best meals of our trip in Cusco, at a restaurant called Pachapapa, that serves traditional dishes and more presented on beautiful, handmade dinnerware. We luckily stumbled upon this restaurant while walking the streets. The smells wafting out lured us in. Though we didn’t try the Peruvian delicacy of guinea pig here (we tried it later in the trip for the cultural experience…and it did have some similarities to chicken), we had delicious rolls, giant corn, fire roasted pizza and the infamous coca tea. Coca tea is encouraged here to help with altitude sickness, as well as chewing on Coca leaves. While both forms were provided throughout our trek, and some felt it was beneficial for them, I never noticed a difference. We stayed at Hotel Rumi Punku and loved it! This was an adorable place to stay in a decent location. Their breakfast buffet was delicious, they had a scale to use to weigh our packs, and we were able to leave our suitcases with items we didn’t want to take on our trek at the front office. They catered well to trekkers, and we felt safe and comfortable.

day 4 - Cusco to soraypampa

Today was an early morning. Alpaca picked us up from our hotel at 4am and we had a 3.5-4-hour bus ride prior to starting the trek. Our group was presented with a choice to get dropped off earlier and have a bit of a longer trek today, but the group voted to ease into things. This meant we only had about 3.3 miles of trekking (600 feet of elevation gain) to make it to our campsite at Soraypampa. Inca Canal A large portion of this trek was along the Inca Canal, which is a small waterway system for irrigation with a pipe for drinking water. I enjoyed walking along the canal and learning more about how and why it was built. I was in awe that it was still structurally sound with some of the original stone. Our guide’s name was Tino and he did a wonderful job watching everyone, pacing us, and stopping often to let everyone rest for a minute before moving on. By the end of the hike, we were sitting around 12,561 feet and according to my Garmin Fenix 6S watch, I was acclimated to 5,249 feet! Though I did not feel sick, I fought to keep my heart rate down and was often out of breath, which was unusual for me for such an easy hike. I also felt a weird sensation of tingling in my jaw/cheeks and arms, which was likely a side effect from the Diamox, so I was watching that. There were no bathrooms during the hike today, but when we arrived at our campsite, I was surprised to learn we were staying in little cabins…with bathroom facilities and outlets. I was not expecting such a luxury and had only packed portable charger power banks. Had I known, I would have packed charging cables, though this was the only night those would have been useful. Humantay Lake Since we arrived at camp by early afternoon, we had time to explore the beautiful scenery there, eat lunch, and decide to tackle an optional afternoon trek to Humantay Lake. I am so glad we decided to do this optional hike because this was one of my favorite parts of the trek. It was rocky and steep, ascending 1278 feet in 2.14 miles (the total trek was 4.33 miles with 1307 total ascent). The elevation of the lake is around 13,900 feet and it was breathtaking. Located at the bottom of Humantay Glacier Mountain, and believed to be a sacred site where Incas held celebration ceremonies, it was one of the most peaceful and stunning places I have experienced. It was like something out of a magazine. We had time to just sit and soak up the natural beauty around us and took plenty of pictures. Another trekker must have had some insight to this picturesque site and brought a brightly colored poncho. After noticing our envious glances his direction, he graciously shared it with our group so we could engage in a photo shoot. These are photos that I share with people now and they ask me, “Are those real?” 100% from a cell phone with no editing. Though I wanted to dive right in and take a swim in such an incredible lake, no swimming was allowed, as it’s a sacred place. So leave your bathing suits at home. On our way back down, we admired a waterfall that you can also view along this path, and saw horses, llamas and hummingbirds. There were no bathrooms and more foot traffic here, so let’s just say finding a private area to pee was very difficult. We made it back to our cozy, warm cabins, and after seeing so much beauty in one day, I was even more excited for what was to come. I looked out my window at the majestic views of Salkantay Mountain in the distance that we would conquer tomorrow and drifted into the best sleep I would have on this week-long trek.

day 5 - Soraypampa to Ichupata

We woke up to Tino knocking on our door, saying “Hola, Hola! Coca Tea,” which we learned would be a morning routine throughout the trek…fresh, hot tea delivered to help combat altitude sickness! Today was memorable and challenging. The views were endless and the terrain rocky, slick and steep. Toward the beginning of the trek, we adventured across waters from a waterfall and rested at a beautiful spot called Salkantay Pampa. When we made it to our lunch spot, Alpaca set up a portable toilet for our use (otherwise the bathroom was in nature). Once we were fueled, we continued our trek, traversing a total of about 6.6 miles with an elevation gain of about 2,805 feet. We saw Kaonia (Polilapis), which is a plant similar to Eucalyptus, and several species of birds to include, Parros, Andean Geese and Gull, Mountain Cara Cara, and Grassland Sparrows. The wind had quite a cold bite the higher we hiked, and I wish I would have had a gaiter to cover my face and neck. When we arrived at camp, which sat at an elevation of about 15,498 feet, our tents were set up and dinner was almost ready. However, it was freezing, I had a bad headache and no appetite. This is the highest elevation we would camp, with stellar opportunities to star gaze, listen to avalanches in the distance, and view the peak of Salkantay Mountain. I tried to soak it all in, but I had to bundle in my sleeping bag, with my wool underlayers and several layers on top of those, gripping hot hands, and attempt to sleep off my headache. I joke that Alpaca saved my life this night when Tino brought hot water bladders to our tents – I curled up with that bladder like it was my long-lost childhood blanket. It was a long, frigid, sleepless night. We woke up to the frozen ground glistening as the sun began to rise.

day 6 - Ichupata to Inca Chiriasca Pass to Inca Canal

What an epic day! I warmed up quickly climbing 1508 feet in a short stretch to my first summit – the Salkantay pass! The stretch to the summit was dusty, rocky, and slick, but as we climbed, we watched several more glacier lakes become smaller and smaller beneath us. We captured more beautiful pictures from the top, and even found rock surfaces to climb up even higher. This was a highlight of the trip – another serene, quiet and peaceful spot and this was the second day in a row where we didn’t see any other hikers. According to my watch, we reached 16,340 feet at our highest point today! I could have stayed there for much longer, but we had more distance to travel and had to move on…and this time, it was a long, difficult, steep downhill for a total descent of 3925 feet today. Needless to say, I was very thankful when we made it down and the terrain and scenery changed to big, green pastures on rolling hills with waterfalls and water running through. We learned about some of the remote towns along the way (as small as 13 people), their ways of farming, use of solar panels, and lack of schooling. We ate lunch at Mt. Balkaya and watched more Condors, falcons and sheep at the farms. Outside of the portable bathroom set up at lunch and camp, nature was the only bathroom today as well. I was very thankful I packed ziplock bags and feminine hygiene products, as sadly, the elevation did not stop my need for them as I had hoped. This was interesting to navigate in the middle of this remote hike, but I’m here to tell you it was doable (not fun, but doable). I learned a lot. I also found I wasn’t hungry for big meals, and though I packed some snacks, I wish I’d brought more because eating more frequent, smaller meals seemed to work better for me (though Alpaca’s meals were deluxe for the mountains and delicious). When we arrived at camp, we sat around 12,457 feet and hiked a total of about 7.6 miles for the day.

day 7 - Inca Canal to Huayllabamba

I woke up today with a kink in my neck and wished for a heating pad. I was thankful it was an easier day today to prepare for another challenging trek up Dead Woman’s Pass tomorrow. It was a beautiful walk, along a river with waterfalls, farm life, and some portions even more Jungle-like – we were heading into the high jungle micro-climate. We came upon our first Incan Ruin. We were able to explore and learn some of the history of this ruin, and then hit a checkpoint where we officially ended the Salkantay trek and began the Inca trail. There were bathroom facilities at this checkpoint, but it was a squatty potty. We only hiked about 5.17 miles today and arrived at the camp by early afternoon. Camp was in a more developed town called Huayllabamba. There were flushing toilets here, and some chose to take a hot shower for 10 soles and access WIFI for 5 soles. I took advantage of the WIFI to call home to check in and let my family know all was well. This was a special time and it was so nice to hear their voices! We had a free afternoon to relax at camp. We all agreed that a deck of cards or something would have been nice to have on this free afternoon, but one of our fellow hikers led us in some restorative yoga and we just hung out and talked. We said good-bye to our horsemen who had been with us through the Salkantay portion of the trek, and met our new team of 12 incredible porters, chef and waitress. I did my best to be brave and introduce myself in Spanish – that’s something I could do even with my limited knowledge of Spanish and I was glad I at least tried. Now that the porters were on the scene, we were told they were going to weigh our duffels in the morning to make sure they weighed the limit to respect their capacity. I didn’t know this would be an option beforehand, but we were told we could pool together 100-150 soles and send any unwanted items back to Cusco…so several of us did that and sent back dirty clothes and other items we didn’t think we’d need for the remainder of the trek.

day 8 - Inca Trail Over Dead Woman’s Pass

Up, Up, and Up we went with an ascent of almost 4,000 feet! And this time, with lots of steps – some that were very deep and far apart (for my little legs and feet anyway). This was another beautiful part of the trek with more mountains and jungle all around. Save your bug spray for this portion – there was an abundance of mosquitos and horseflies that seemed to be attracted to bright colors. It was another feat to make it to the top of those stairs and stand in Dead Woman’s Pass. My watch had us at an elevation of 13,495 feet and though I had stopped taking my high-altitude medication, I was doing fine without them. This was another opportunity for photos and many groups of people gathered waiting for their turn. We took some time to catch our breath and get our photos but then needed to continue…and as we got to the backside, the cool air and wind kicked up (I was glad I had my warm hat and gloves accessible even though I didn’t want them at the start of today’s trek at lower elevation) and it was time to trek down. I was convinced again that I prefer climbing over descending. At least our wildlife encounters kept my mind occupied. They included a rare black llama, lots of birds, holes that Tino said were from spiders, and lots of moths flying around everywhere. Since the sun and heat were out more during this part of the trek, my neck got a bit toasty and aloe would have been nice. My sweat rate also picked up, so I made a mental note that some kind of hanger for sweaty, wet clothes could have come in handy. There were a couple bathroom options along this portion of the trek as well. We hiked a total of about 5.56 miles today, though with all the ascending and descending, it felt like much more and took us all day.

day 9 - Ruins, Archeological Sites, and The Cloud Forest

The terms “Inca Flat” and “Gringa Killer” were now becoming part of our everyday vocabulary (thanks to our guide, Tino, for expanding our lexicons). Today was a long day traversing 8+ miles of challenging terrain. We had an exciting detour due to damage from a landslide in this section of the trail, and though we had mixed feelings because it was VERY muddy, it was incredible to walk the detour route that hadn’t been used in 15 years. This led to a more unique, picturesque view of Machu Picchu, as well as Machu Picchu Mountain. We also witnessed the Cloud Forest (though it was a pretty clear day and we got better views than one usually sees), Sacred Valley, and the river of Urubamba. We learned of the Dancing Lady flowers and saw more llamas. Also noteworthy of today’s hike were several ruins and archaeological sites we explored, to include Runcu Raccay (watchtower), Sayacmarca (original Inca houses, water fountains, water channels, and views of a valley), Phuyupatamarca (cloud-level town where Incan nobles studied astronomy), and C.A. Intipata. It’s astounding to step foot in these sites and soak in pieces of that lifestyle and the work ethic it must have taken to build those paths, staircases and ruins. Tipping Porters and Chefs Once we got set up at camp for the evening, we learned that this would be our last night with our porters and chef, as we would arrive at our final destination of Machu Picchu tomorrow and they would begin their travels back to Cusco. They prepared a celebratory dinner for us that even included a stunning cake! It was a beautiful celebration. Our hiking crew pooled our money together for tips and thanked the Alpaca team for their hard work and service during this time. Though tips are at your discretion and should be based on what’s on your heart to give, Alpaca recommends tipping about 80-100 soles to each porter, which when split between the group of hikers, averages out for each person to give about 150 soles for the porters and 40-75 soles for each of the two chefs. Planning to bring 500 soles with you on such a trek should cover your expenses for tipping, bathrooms, little souvenirs, snacks, etc., though again, this can vary depending on your personal preferences. Others also chose to leave their hiking boots and other hiking essentials behind for the porters to gain. Unfortunately, several of us got very sick this evening, likely from something we ate. This is where the prescribed traveler’s medications and over the counter Tums, Pepto Bismol, and Imodium became essential! I also benefitted from using sunscreen and bug spray on today’s hike. I made note in my hiking journal that tissues or a hanky for a runny nose would have been nice to have, as well as more reminders of my lack of stair training (particularly downhill), as my knees were yelling at me! There were a couple squatty potties along the trail today.

day 10 - Machu Picchu, Aguas Calientes, and Cusco

Today was an early morning with a 3:20am wake up, and since I had been nauseous and sick all night, I hardly slept. I got up with a headache, sweat pouring out of my skin, making frequent bathroom trips, and felt very weak and exhausted. I did not know how I would make it to Machu Picchu with a very crowded trail and no bathrooms, but I prayed a lot and very slowly took a step at a time. Luckily, we only had about 4 miles to hike today, but it was still “Inca Flat” terrain with lots of stairs and ups and downs. I do remember it being an absolutely breathtaking trail and I’m sure I would have enjoyed it much more if I hadn’t been so sick. The highlights were entering the Sun Gate and soaking in the views of the mountains, valleys, rivers, and Incan ruins, and then crying when I entered Machu Picchu because I was in awe, as well as exhausted and relieved that I actually made it! Before entering Machu Picchu, there are bathrooms you can use for 2 soles, as well as lockers you can rent to store any items you don’t want to take in. Disappointedly, when I got into Machu Picchu, and realized how grand it was and how many more stairs I would have to tackle to join my crew on a tour, I couldn’t muster up the energy to walk around. However, I found a spot in the grass to lay, where I spent some alone time soaking in the beauty around me, praying, and sleeping. I was able to eavesdrop on some of the tour groups around me and learned a lot! Here are some fun facts I soaked in: • Machu Picchu took 93 years to build and was left unfinished.• Noble and citizens lived there. It was a place for agriculture (coca beans, pumpkin, beans, squash-many varieties could grow here because of the lower elevation), battle (several platforms can be found throughout), and religion (round structures were the temples).• Mt. Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu were beautiful and I would love to climb both mountains, but luckily given my physical status today, did not prearrange either of these climbs. Following our allotted time in Machu Picchu, we took a 30-minute bus ride down to the adorable town of Aguas Calientes where we had lunch and said our goodbyes to our guide, Tino. Our group shared our gratitude and decided to individually tip him at this time (suggested tip is 100 soles per person). I would have loved to stay here for a night or two, as the shops and restaurants were abundant and I still couldn’t stomach anything to enjoy a meal here, but our prearranged tour sent us on a train to Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, where we said good-bye to one of our fellow hikers who was going to do more exploration in this area, and then an Alpaca van took us back to our hotel in Cusco. What a treasure to step foot in one of the modern-day seven wonders of the world!

day 11 - Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley

We booked this as an add-on to our Salkantay Trek + Inca Trail tour with Alpaca. We knew it was ambitious to plan it the day after we completed our 7-day trek, and ideally a day or two of rest in between would have been nice, but we needed to get back to our families sooner rather than later and went for it! I continued to have next to no appetite from being sick, and struggled with a pretty strong headache today, likely lingering from the sickness and compounded from the altitude, but I am so glad I was able to push through. This area is stunning. I was not aware prior to this hike that Rainbow Mountain was exposed due to a glacier melting from global warming. Despite its beauty, this was sad to hear. It is also a very crowded route, like a pilgrimage, so be prepared to share this experience with many others. The trailhead starts around 14,000 feet and climbs to what my watch mapped at 17,060 feet at the highest point I reached…over about 5.36 miles round trip. With all the hiking we did on this trip, we hit our highest elevation today, and were still not immune to its effects. Cristy became very lightheaded and needed oxygen. Luckily our guide, Ruben, was well equipped and ready to educate and help us when we were in need. The terrain was steep, rocky, and full of dirt as we made our way up the mountain. There were several paid bathroom facilities along the way, as well as many Peruvian women wearing beautiful polleras and colorful shawls (i.e., mantas) offering photo opportunities with their brightly decorated llamas and alpacas. There was so much to observe and soak in along the way. Once we made it to the top, there were some food vendors as well. I did not partake in any but kept myself busy admiring the 14 different colorful minerals of the mountain. Ruben asked our group if we wanted to keep hiking behind the mountain to reach Red Valley. Though I had no idea what was in store for us, I’m glad I usually tend toward exploring because this area blew me away. The trail to the Red Valley was not easy but was worth it! The picturesque views are ones I will never forget. We took some time capturing photos here and sat and soaked in the views while we ate a snack to refuel. Ruben directed our gazes to the town down in the valley and told us the people who lived there still live very traditionally, like in Incan times. We made our way back to the area of Rainbow Mountain we crested previously and learned there was a bit more of a climb to reach the highest point. Some of our group opted to stay and rest, but a couple of us turned to climb some more. It was another feat to make it up this section and the wind really picked up – I put my Arc’teryx puffy coat on up here. We looked down on both sides of the mountain, took lots of pictures, and watched some falcons flying and playing in the wind. It was magical. Like all climbs, it was time to make our way back down. Cristy and I decided to give our knees a break, bask in a little reward, and embrace a new experience. We hired some Peruvian women and their horses and took a ride down the mountain. We had some laughs and enjoyed this part of our adventure. I am thankful we went for it and didn’t head home before we squeezed in Rainbow Mountain and Red Valley! Bring your sunscreen for this day trip, as I learned only applying in the morning wasn’t enough to prevent burning.